Agriculture: Pesticides

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their response to the public consultation on the European Union Sustainable Use of Pesticide Directive; and when they will bring forward their proposals to implement that directive.

Lord Henley: It is my intention to publish the response to the consultation on the sustainable use of pesticides directive (2009/128/EC) before the end of this year. There will be a further consultation in the summer of 2011 on the draft legislation that is required to implement the directive by the end of 2011.

Airports: Security

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the arrival desks at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, and (c) Stansted, are fitted with electronic terminals for the checking of travel documents; and what would be the cost of installing such terminals at those desks where they are not fitted.

Baroness Neville-Jones: At Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, all arrivals desks are fitted with electronic terminals for the checking of travel documents.

Airports: Security

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of passengers in the past six months embarking from (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, and (c) Stansted, have had travel documents checked by an immigration officer.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The UK Border Agency's officers carry out targeted embarkation checks on an intelligence-led basis, scrutinising travel documents to identify immigration offenders, people smuggling cash or fleeing justice, and those who may be of interest for terrorism purposes. The agency does not record the number of such checks carried out.
	Through the e-Borders system, we currently check electronically in excess of 55 per cent of all arrivals into and departures from the UK, supporting the agency's ability to conduct effective embarkation checks and enabling the law enforcement agencies to mount an appropriate response, including manual intervention where necessary.
	Our programme for government sets out our support for e-Borders and our intention to reintroduce exit checks and we are committed to do this by 2015.

Armed Forces: Medals

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 9 November (WA 47-8) on armed forces medals, what was the basis for the "five-year rule"; when the rule was adopted; and what exceptions have been made to this rule since it became Government policy.

Lord Howell of Guildford: It is long-standing policy that awards will not be approved for events or service that took place more than five years before initial consideration, or in connection with events that took place in the distant past. The rule is understood to have been laid down in the time of King George VI. It is based on the considered view that those closest to the activities in question are those best able to judge the appropriateness or otherwise of honours and decorations.
	In 2005, the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (the HD committee) decided to make an exception to the five-year rule to allow the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal to be accepted, but not worn.
	Exceptions were also made for the Russian 40th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War Medal, received by veterans of the Second World War Arctic convoys, and the General Service Medal granted to veterans who served in the Suez Canal zone between 1951 and 1954.

Arms Trade: Global Treaty

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the next two Preparatory Committee meetings in preparation for the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty in 2012; and what resources they have allocated to the Government's work on the Arms Trade Treaty between now and the 2012 conference.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Achieving a robust and effective arms trade treaty remains a priority for the British Government and we will continue to play an active and constructive role in the UN process.
	The UK uses the technical expertise of a cross-Whitehall team working on the arms trade treaty, with representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Ministry of Defence, Department for International Development and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, led by a member of the FCO's senior management structure.
	The UK will continue to use the FCO's extensive overseas network to engage with key supportive and sceptical states, and we will continue to engage with UK defence industry and non-governmental organisations to help refine the UK's negotiating position ahead of the preparatory committee meetings at the UN. The FCO has also provided strategic programme funds for arms trade treaty-related projects this financial year. We are still awaiting the resource allocations that will allow us to make decisions on future programme spend on the arms trade treaty.

Aviation: Passenger Duty

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review Air Passenger Duty and its effect on tourism in developing regions.

Lord Sassoon: The Budget announced that the Government will explore changes to the aviation tax system, including switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty. Major changes will be subject to consultation.

Aviation: Passenger Duty

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the changes in Air Passenger Duty on passengers wishing to travel to the Caribbean over Christmas.

Lord Sassoon: The June Budget announced that the Government will explore changes to the aviation tax system, including switching from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty, which could encourage fuller planes. Major changes will be subject to consultation.

Bank of England

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Bank of England will assess the economic impact of its Secure Commercial Paper Facilities.

Lord Sassoon: The Bank of England will assess the economic impact of its secured commercial paper facility by considering a number of factors, including the amount of such paper issued to private investors. Although the Bank believes that this programme will encourage the flow of credit to a broader range of companies than the other corporate asset purchase facility schemes, it is likely to play only a small part in tackling broader financing issues for smaller companies, which the Government are taking forward.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have given Lloyds Banking Group plc any commitments which would preclude the independent commission on banking proposing, and Her Majesty's Government accepting, recommendations that might include further mandatory asset disposal by Lloyds Banking Group or the unwinding in whole or part of the combination of Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

Lord Sassoon: The Independent Commission on Banking has been asked to look at the structure of banking in the UK and consider how to promote financial stability and competition in the industry. The commission has been set up to enable an open debate on these issues and to give all interested parties an opportunity to make their case. The commission is due to deliver its report to the Government by the end of September 2011.
	The Government have not provided Lloyds Banking Group or any other party with any commitments that would serve to limit either the scope of the Commission's investigations or the Government's decision as to the appropriate course of action thereafter.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposal to raise revenue based upon bank deposits constitutes a levy or a tax.

Lord Sassoon: The bank levy is a charge based on the total chargeable equity and liabilities as reported in the relevant balance sheets of affected banks, banking and building society groups at the end of a chargeable period. Deposits are either excluded or subject to half the full rate, except for those from other financial institutions.
	On 9 December, final draft legislation for the bank levy was published as part of consolidated draft clauses planned for Finance Bill 2011. The legislation introduces the bank levy as a tax.

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 25 November, whether it is now too late for a consultation to be conducted on Sir David Walker's recommendations on bank compensation before decisions are made by banks in respect of financial year 2010.

Lord Sassoon: Further to my previous Answer, the Financial Services Authority is consulting on implementation of the capital requirements directive 3 disclosure requirements, which come into force on 1 January 2011, covering all payments made thereafter, including in respect of the 2010 financial year. The directive requires firms to make disclosures regarding capital and risk and includes requirements for narrative and quantitative disclosure on pay policy and practices.

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 18 November (WA224), what proportion of the bonus entitlement of the Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group is linked to expanding the Group's small and medium-sized enterprise lending portfolio; whether this is gross or net lending; and over what period this will be measured.

Lord Sassoon: As was announced by Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), an element of Mr Horta-Osório's annual bonus will be assessed on the performance of LBG in lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. The implementation of remuneration arrangements at LBG is a matter for the board of LBG.

Banking: World Bank

Baroness Noakes: To ask Her Majesty's Government for what purpose grants are made by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to the World Bank; how much was paid in 2009-10; and how much is planned to be paid in 2010-11.

Lord Marland: DECC makes capital grants to the World Bank for low carbon development, climate change adaptation and forestry projects through the Climate Investment Funds, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and the Congo Basin Forest Fund. DECC paid £100 million in 2009-10 and plans to pay £250 million in 2010-11.

Barnett Formula

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 25 November (WA 370), whether they would consider changing the Barnett Formula, to one based on need, in 2015, when the Scotland Bill comes into operation.

Lord Sassoon: As set out in the White Paper Strengthening Scotland's Future (Cm 7973), the Government recognises some of the concerns expressed about the current system of devolution funding, but at this time the priority is to reduce the deficit and any changes must await the stabilisation of the public finances.

Barnett Formula

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a change in the Barnett Formula based on need requires primary legislation.

Lord Sassoon: A change in the Barnett formula based on need would not require primary legislation.

Climate Change

Lord Stevens of Ludgate: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost of sending United Kingdom delegates to the climate change conference in Cancún.

Lord Marland: We will make public the total cost of sending the UK delegation to the 16th conference of the parties in Cancun once the conference has finished and final figures are available.

Cluster Munitions

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they permit the United States base at Diego Garcia to store cluster munitions.

Lord Howell of Guildford: No. There are no US cluster munitions stored on Diego Garcia, or any other UK territory.
	As was announced to Parliament during the passage of the Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Act 2010, the US agreed to remove all stockpiles from UK territory by 2013. Since then the UK was able to announce to the First Meeting of States Parties to the Cluster Munitions Convention in November 2010 that, in fact, the US has now withdrawn all stockpiles from UK territory ahead of schedule.
	The Government is in the process of extending the Act to all UK Overseas Territories. Until the Act is formally extended, the Government's position is to act in accordance with its prohibitions.

Crime: Minor Offences

Lord Vinson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of the acquittal in Peterborough Crown Court on 17 November of Mr Manuel Lorenco-de-Jesus, what advice they have given to the Crown Prosecution Service regarding the appropriateness of prosecuting minor offences, such as failure to produce valid driving documents, where the time the accused spends in custody on remand is likely to exceed the sentence of the accused if found guilty, as happened in that case.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: Prosecution decisions are taken by the CPS independently of Government, in accordance with the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and the Code for Crown Prosecutors. On 26 May 2010, Mr Manuel Laurenco De Jesus was charged with an offence of possession of a false identity document, namely a driving licence, with the intention of using it for establishing registrable facts about himself, contrary to section 25(1)(a) of the Identity Cards Act 2006. On 26 August 2010 the Crown added a second count to the indictment, alleging simple possession of the document without a reasonable excuse, contrary to section 25(5)(a) of the same Act. This second count was the sole matter upon which the jury were invited to consider a verdict. The jury found that Mr De Jesus had a reasonable excuse for possessing the false driving licence and acquitted him. Mr De Jesus had previously entered the United Kingdom illegally and the allegation was not considered to be minor. Significant sentences of imprisonment are ordinarily imposed by the Court upon conviction for such matters.
	In addition to being remanded in custody by the court, Mr De Jesus had been held in immigration detention from the point of arrest, pending investigation into his identity. In the circumstances no advice to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was considered necessary or appropriate.

Crime: Teenage Violence

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to curb violent crimes committed by teenagers.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Serious violence is a key priority for this government. In 2010-11 we have provided £4 million to local partnerships in 52 participating Community Safety Partnerships and the British Transport Police to assist in their work to tackle serious violence committed by young people and against young people.
	In addition, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have asked Brooke Kinsella, whose brother Ben was murdered two years ago, to examine schemes working in local communities to stop young people from carrying and using weapons. Ms Kinsella's report will be published in the coming months.
	The Home Office Community Fund programme is providing 143 small local community based organisations with small grants up to £10,000 per annum until March 2011 to deliver projects aimed at preventing young people from engaging in gun, gang and knife crime and to steer those already involved towards more positive initiatives and activities.

Crown Prosecution Service

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether in criminal prosecutions they will allow the Crown Prosecution Service to be subject to civil actions for damages if (a) their conduct resulted in a preventable miscarriage of justice, or (b) the Crown Prosecution Service failed to follow their code of conduct for Crown Prosecutors.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: The Government currently have no plans to change the law to alter the liability of the Crown Prosecution Service in the exercise of its powers. In general, public bodies are not liable in damages for errors in the use of their powers, although it is open to claimants to seek to take proceedings against public bodies on a number of grounds such as misfeasance in public office, breach of statutory duty or other breach of tort law. Claimants may also challenge the lawfulness of the actions of a public body by way of proceedings for judicial review.

Crown Prosecution Service

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will restore the sufficiency of evidence criteria to the Code for Crown Prosecutors of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: Sufficiency of evidence is part of the Full Code Test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code). It has been present in the Code since it was first published in 1986. The Code is published on the Crown Prosecution Service website at http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/code20l0english.pdf.

Cybercrime

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to prevent internet crime and cyber fraud.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Government will publish a new National Cyber Crime Strategy in early 2011, drawing on expertise across government, which will set the direction for tackling cyber crime in the UK. In the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), we announced specific proposals, including the creation of a single point of contact where the public and businesses can report cyber crime.
	We also announced a new programme of skill development to ensure that those involved in combating cyber crime have the knowledge to identify, understand and tackle the threat. The Government continues to support Getsafeonline.org, a public-private sector initiative that raises awareness of online fraud and cyber crime prevention issues amongst the general public.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they agree with the United Nations Secretary-General's Report on Cyprus Talks which states that, "If substantive agreement across all chapters cannot be concluded ahead of the election cycle, the talks may go into abeyance and there is a serious risk that the negotiations could founder fatally."

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK Government are committed to supporting the UN's efforts to achieve a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality. We want to see a settlement agreed and peacefully implemented by Cypriots for Cypriots to deliver a stable, prosperous and united Cyprus, operating as a valued partner within the EU.
	We welcome and strongly support the UN Secretary General's report and join him in urging both leaders to work on the core issues identified by the UN Secretary General in their meeting of 18 November. The UN Secretary General has agreed to meet the two leaders again in Geneva on 25-26 January, and we hope they can make real progress before then.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they are making to relieve the 36-year embargo on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as promised subsequent to the 2004 Annan Plan Referendum should the United Nations Secretary-General decree that the current Cyprus Talks have failed.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK remains committed to supporting the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community, bringing Turkish Cypriots closer to Europe through both financial aid and trade liberalisation. Together with the European Commission we are supporting their efforts to bring their laws and policies into line with the EU. The financial aid regulation, worth €259 million, represents the EU's biggest per capita aid programme. It has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of ordinary Turkish Cypriots and will assist with the implementation of a settlement once one is agreed. We welcome the progress made so far.
	We support the UN in its efforts to find a just and lasting settlement to the Cyprus problem that benefits all Cypriots.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what communication the Prime Minister has had with President Demetris Christophias and President Dervis Eroglu relative to the Cyprus Talks over the past two months; and whether they will acknowledge the need to maintain a balanced and objective approach to both sides.

Lord Howell of Guildford: On 17 November my right honourable friend the Prime Minister had a telephone conversation with President Christofias in which they discussed a wide range of issues, including the settlement process.
	We support the UN in its efforts to bring together the two Cypriot communities to find a just and lasting settlement to the Cyprus problem that benefits all Cypriots. It is important that any solution is a Cypriot one-a solution by Cypriots for Cypriots.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the level of toxic debt held by banks in the Republic of Cyprus; whether the United Kingdom, as a Guarantor Power, has any obligations in respect of such debts; and what implications such indebtedness has for the current Cyprus talks.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We do not hold information on Cypriot banks' debt holdings. This information can be found in individual banks' annual reports.
	The Treaty of Guarantee does not place any obligations on the UK with respect to financial liabilities incurred by Republic of Cyprus or any other State.
	There is no direct connection between the economic situation and the Cyprus settlement talks. The Government's policy is to support the UN's efforts to achieve a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality.
	A settlement would however bring considerable economic benefits to Cyprus, for example through increased trade and tourism.

Defence: Contractors

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their estimates of the current average profit margins of defence contractors on Government orders, and on the orders the defence industry wins from other governments.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is committed to undertaking competitive procurement action whenever possible. Over the past five years, 60 per cent by value of new contracts and amendments were placed through competitive processes and 40 per cent non-competitively. In competitive contracts, prices are driven by market forces and profit margins vary depending on prevailing market forces and negotiation trade-offs.
	UK Defence Statistics Table 1.15 provides details of contracts placed by type and can be found at the following website: http://www.dasa.mod.uk/modintranet/UKDS/UKDS2010/c1/table115.php.
	A copy of the table has been placed in the Library of the House.
	In cases when competition is not possible the Government profit formula rates are reviewed annually by an independent non-departmental public body, the Review Board for Government Contracts, in their so-called Yellow Book reports. The profit rate is designed to equal the average of UK industry profits. Over the past six years the average non-competitive all-up rate agreed for price setting purposes is around 9 per cent. The MoD will be undertaking an independent review of these Yellow Book arrangements, beginning in the new year. This review is expected to last about 18 months.
	I cannot comment on profit margins that defence industry agrees with other governments, as they are subject to commercial confidentiality between the parties involved.

e-Borders

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the total cost to public funds to date of installing e-Borders; and what they expect the cost to be over each of the next five years.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Government have invested £325 million in the e-Borders system to date. At this stage, detailed budgets for the next four years have not been finalised. The programme is currently examining options for contracting with new suppliers and expects to be able to finalise costs early in 2011.

e-Borders

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes have been made since May to the contractual agreements for the installation of the e-Borders system in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Neville-Jones: On 22 July the Minister for Immigration announced that the supplier's performance to date had not been compliant with their contractual obligations and that he had taken the decision to terminate the e-Borders contract with Raytheon.
	Work is ongoing to novate the contracts governing existing services away from Raytheon. This is expected to be completed by April 2011. We are engaging with alternative providers to deliver the key benefits that the contract with Raytheon was unable to deliver.

Economy

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions in the last ten years HM Treasury's measure of excess capacity in the economy has been wrong by a margin greater than 1.5 per cent.

Lord Sassoon: The level of excess capacity in the economy, or output gap, is typically defined as the difference between measured actual output and an estimate of potential output. Since the level of potential output is unobserved, excess capacity cannot be directly measured. Hence it is not possible to state by how much such measures of excess capacity have been wrong.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic forecasts. The OBR published a new economic forecast on 29 November 2010, which can be found online at: http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk. This forecast includes estimates by the OBR of the spare capacity in the economy.

Economy: Quantitative Easing

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of (a) quantitative easing, and (b) the prospect of lower economic growth, on United Kingdom gilt yields.

Lord Sassoon: Assessments of quantitative easing and developments in financial markets can be found in the Bank of England Inflation Reports and Financial Stability Reports and minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meetings.
	As a result of the action the Government have taken, market confidence in the UK has improved. This is reflected in long-term interest rates, which have fallen by around half a percentage point since the election, leading to lower debt interest payments. The International Monetary Fund, in its Article IV report on the UK published in September, stated that "the consolidation plan and implementation of early measures to tackle the deficit-one of the highest in the world in 2010-greatly reduces the risk of a costly loss of confidence in fiscal sustainability and will help rebalance the economy".

Economy: Quantitative Easing

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sassoon on 22 November (Official Report, col. 975), why HM Treasury closely monitors an international interest rate swap which is significantly influenced by quantitative easing purchases.

Lord Sassoon: The Government monitors a wide range of factors in its assessment of the economy. Assessments of international financial markets can be found in the Bank of England Inflation Reports and Financial Stability Reports, as well as in the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meetings.

Economy: Quantitative Easing

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Sassoon on 22 November (Official Report, col. 975), what percentage of each ten-year maturity gilt is owned by the Asset Purchase Fund used to implement quantitative easing.

Lord Sassoon: The data for amounts of gilts outstanding are available from the Debt Management Office's website, while the nominal amount of gilts held by the Asset Purchase Facility can be found on the Bank of England website. These show that the Asset Purchase Facility holds £10.9 billion nominal of the £31.4 billion nominal in issue of 43/4 per cent Treasury Stock 2020, and that it holds none of the 33/4 per cent of Treasury Gilt 2020.

Energy: Carbon Reduction Commitment

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Marland on 1 December (WA 456-7), whether their intention is for the price of carbon reduction commitment allowances to rise over time.

Lord Marland: Decisions about allowance sales and price are a matter for the Budget process. As set out in the spending review 2010 policy costings document available on the Treasury websitel, the Government have assumed allowance prices of £12 per tonne of CO2 for 2011-12 and 2012-13 emissions and £16 per tonne of CO2 for 2013-14 and 2014-15 emissions in its public finance calculations.
	1 http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ spend_sr2010_policycostings.htm

Energy: Carbon Reduction Commitment

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Marland on 1 December (WA 456) that there was no change in Government guidance regarding exemptions for business in the climate change agreement (CCA) scheme, whether Department of Energy and Climate Change officials have advised port operators to encourage their tenants to get CCAs to minimise their carbon reduction commitment liabilities; and, if so, why.

Lord Marland: The guidance for the carbon reduction commitment energy efficiency scheme is available on the websites of the Environment Agency and the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The latter also contains guidance on climate change agreements (CCAs). CCAs are voluntary agreements with Government to meet an agreed energy efficiency target in return for a rebate on the climate change levy. The Government do not advise companies on whether to join a CCA or their strategy for participating in the CRC energy efficiency scheme.

Energy: Carbon Reduction Commitment

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Marland on 1 December (WA 456), what assessment they have made of the need to reconcile their current position when climate change agreement (CCA) holders are in control of their own energy use with no landlord control; and whether they will consider telling officials to advise landlords to hold the CCA.

Lord Marland: The CRC energy efficiency scheme is intended as a catalyst for action, and designed to address specific barriers to implementing energy efficiency measures by participants. One of these barriers is the split of responsibilities between landlord and tenant. The CRC addresses this, by making the landlord responsible for the emissions in CRC where the landlord is responsible for the energy supply.
	If tenants draw their energy direct from a licensed supplier (rather than a landlord), they are assessed for CRC energy efficiency scheme participation directly. If they are supplied with energy by their landlord they count towards the landlord's CRC energy efficiency scheme assessment. The incentives to improve energy efficiency in the CRC are targeted at those paying a licensed supplier for the energy used. This is in line with climate change agreements (CCAs), where those eligible choose to agree an energy efficiency improvement target with Government and subsequently meet that target are eligible for paying a reduced rate of climate change levy. CCAs are a voluntary scheme and Government do not advise individual companies or installations on whether to enter into a CCA, as that is a matter for each organisation to consider.

Energy: Oil and Gas Licences

Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what incentives exist to encourage oil and gas exploration and development west of Shetland.

Lord Sassoon: The Field Allowance provides an incentive to increase the economic production of oil and gas. The Field Allowance is a maximum of £800 million per field, giving a tax benefit (undiscounted) of £160 million, accessed over a minimum of five years.
	The Field Allowance for New Oil Fields Order 2010 added a new category of field, a deep water gas field-such as those found west of Shetland-which qualifies for the field allowance.
	In order to qualify, the field must be more than 60 kilometres from relevant infrastructure; lie below more than 300 metres of water; and more than 75 per cent of the reserves in the field on the authorisation day must consist of gas.

EU: Republic of Macedonia

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support the wish of the Republic of Macedonia to start accession negotiations for full European Union membership in the European Union Council meeting on 16 December.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The UK fully supports the European Commission's recommendation that negotiations for accession to the European Union should be opened with Macedonia. The Government expect a date for the opening of negotiations to be given once the European Council reaches a unanimous decision to endorse the Commission's recommendation.

EU: Republic of Macedonia

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that the fact that the Republic of Macedonia's constitutional name is identical to that of a region of Greece makes it impossible for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to commence accession negotiations for full European Union membership.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government does not believe that solving the name dispute should be a condition for opening EU accession negotiations. The enlargement criteria are consistent for all aspirant members of the EU, as set by the Council at Copenhagen in 1993. At the same time, the UK encourages both parties to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute as soon as possible, under the UN umbrella.

EU: Republic of Macedonia

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Greece prior to the European Union Council meeting on 16 December, in the context of an application by the Republic of Macedonia to start accession negotiations for full European Union membership, to encourage Greece not to block the application on the basis of a previous objection by Greece over the identical name of a region within Greece.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We regularly discuss a range of EU matters with the Greek Government, including enlargement. The UK fully supports the European Commission's recommendation that negotiations for accession to the European Union should be opened with Macedonia. At the same time, the UK encourages both parties to reach a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue as soon as possible, under the UN umbrella.

EU: Republic of Macedonia

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the European Commission has hitherto confirmed its recommendation for the Republic of Macedonia to open accession negotiations to the European Union without requiring that country to change its name.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The European Commission makes its recommendations to open accession negotiations on the basis of the criteria set by the Council at Copenhagen in 1993. It has recommended that Macedonia has reached a sufficient level of compliance to warrant the opening of accession negotiations. The European Commission has not required a change of name as part of the criteria.

EU: Salaries

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the decision of the European Court of Justice to overrule the decision of member states on increases of European Union employees' salaries constitutes a loss of power by member states.

Lord Sassoon: The judgment does not constitute a loss of power by member states. It clarifies the measure of influence that member states can exercise over annual salary adjustments for European officials.
	The Government do not believe that this level of influence, or the current system, is appropriate. We are pushing actively for reform and will engage fully in a review of the system for salary adjustments, starting next year.

EU: Self-funding

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of plans by the European Commission announced by the President of the Commission to the European Parliament to bring forward European Union self-funding before the end of June 2011.

Lord Sassoon: The European Commission has yet to issue formal proposals for the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework. However, the UK Government has made it clear that it will not agree to the introduction of an EU tax directly to fund the EU budget.

EU: Deposit Guarantee Schemes

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they agreed to European Union legislation denominating the United Kingdom banks' and building societies' compensation scheme in euros rather than in pounds; and whether the amount of compensation in pounds will vary according to the rate of exchange between the pound and the euro.

Lord Sassoon: From 31 December 2010 the Financial Services Compensation Scheme deposit compensation limit will rise to the equivalent of €100,000, in line with the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive. The limit will be converted into sterling and rounded to a clear and memorable figure. At current exchange rates this means that the compensation limit would be £85,000. The Financial Services Authority will confirm the new limit on 17 December. The new limit will not vary automatically with exchange rates, but will be reviewed every five years. The Government may review the limit sooner if unforeseen events necessitate this.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the names of all unpaid advisers to Ministers in the Cabinet Office.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: A list of unpaid advisers appointed to provide advice to Cabinet Office Ministers is set out below.
	
		
			 Name Role 
			 Graham Allen MP Independent Review on Early Intervention Delivery 
			 Sir Tim Berners-Lee Member, Public Sector Transparency Board 
			 Lord Browne Government's lead Non-Executive Director 
			 The right honourable Frank Field MP Independent Review on Poverty and Life Chances 
			 Simone Finn Industrial Relations 
			 Sir Peter Gershon Non Executive member of the Efficiency and Reform Board 
			 Sir Philip Green Efficiency review into Government Spending 
			 Lord Haskins Non Executive Member, Efficiency and Reform Board 
			 Martha Lane Fox UK Digital Champion 
			 Alan Milburn Review of Social Mobility

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the names of all unpaid advisers to Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Baroness Wilcox: Lord Heseltine chairs the Regional Growth Fund, whose members are: Sir Ian Wrigglesworth; Felicity Goodey; Tony Greenham; Richard Lambert; Jon Moulton; Caroline Plumb; Sir David Rowlands; Mark Seligman; Andrew Shilston; Lord John Shipley; and Tony Venables.
	Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay chairs the Business Advisory Group, whose members are: Professor John Kay; Rachel Lomax; Vicky Pryce CB; and Lord Sharman.
	Dr Scott Kelly is an unpaid adviser to David Willetts.

Government Departments: Staff

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government who owns the copyright of films made by Ms Nicky Woodhouse while she was employed by the Cabinet Office.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The copyright of films and other material made by Ms Nicky Woodhouse, while she was employed by the Cabinet Office, are the same as any other material produced by civil servants and as such is governed by Crown copyright.

Government Departments: Websites

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what target they have set for reducing the number of government websites.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Minister for the Cabinet Office announced on 24 June that he wanted to see up to 75 per cent of government websites closed.
	Government departments have been asked to inform the Cabinet Office about the websites that are absolutely essential for the purpose of meeting their business goals. Departments will then be asked to close the websites that are no longer needed. The Government hope that a considerable number will be closed to make significant efficiency savings.
	No targets have been set for the number of websites that are to be closed because as yet the exact number is not known and we do not know which websites are essential or which can be closed. However, it is hoped that a considerable number can be closed and significant efficiencies realised from their closure.

Government Departments: Websites

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in requiring public bodies to use one of the approved government websites, they will ensure that the material to be provided by such public bodies will not be censored.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Minister for the Cabinet Office asked Martha Lane Fox, in her role as Digital Champion, to review the Directgov website to ensure that the Government are making the best use of its online presence. In undertaking this review Martha Lane Fox decided that she could not review Directgov in isolation since it was necessary to look at how the Government can use the internet both to communicate and to interact better with citizens.
	The review takes into account significant changes in the internet and the behaviour of users in the last few years. A number of recommendations were made about the role of Directgov and the way that the Government publish on the internet. Many of these recommendations build on and accelerate the existing work to rationalise the number of websites run by Government. The intention remains to reduce the number of websites and wherever possible to place content on Directgov, Businesslink.gov.uk, or NHS Choices. Departments will determine the best website to publish their content and the nature of that content.
	There are, however, advantages to be found by rationalising content onto a limited number of websites wherever possible. These include the Government's ability to ensure that all content is accessible and usable across an increasingly wide range of technologies, and assurance of meeting statutory, best practice, or industry standards on accessibility. This can also help in expressing things in plain English that citizens and businesses can understand and in improving online services so that citizens can complete their transaction with ease. It is also easier to manage the syndication of content to relevant third party providers, whilst ensuring standards are adhered to and engendering trust with service users.
	Wherever content is published, the content remains the property of the supplying organisation. Since it is their content, these changes will not lead to any censorship, nor have any impact on the independence of the supplying public body.

Government Departments: Websites

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of transferring information to approved government websites.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Minister for the Cabinet Office has invited government departments to consider which of their websites are absolutely essential to be kept open for the purpose of meeting their business goals. Websites that departments no longer need will be closed, thereby reducing the total number of websites owned and operated by Government.
	As of 1 December there were over 800 central government websites, but more websites are being discovered. This makes it confusing for citizens and businesses to find the services and information they seek. The cost of managing large numbers of websites and maintaining their contracts is too high and the Government are committed to increasing efficiencies wherever possible.
	Departments were asked to respond by the end of December. It is therefore too early to estimate the likely costs of making these changes because the full scope of the changes is not yet known.
	However, transfer costs are a small proportion of the overall costs of keeping so many websites open, which are unacceptably high. The Minister for the Cabinet Office said in June that he wanted to see costs cut by up to 50 per cent, and transferring from multiple websites to Directgov, Businesslink.gov.uk, and NHS Choices will help to cut such costs.

Government Departments: Websites

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that public bodies required to have a gov internet domain will be able to display independence from the Government.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Minister for the Cabinet Office previously announced on 24 June that he wanted to see up to 75 per cent of government websites closed.
	Public bodies that have an agreed independent role are encouraged to mark out that role both in text and visual cues. These public bodies are responsible for their online public services and the content and accuracy of their communications and information. They will determine the best website to publish their content and the nature of that content.

Government Departments: Websites

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from public bodies required to close their own websites and transfer the information to approved government websites.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Minister for the Cabinet Office announced on 24 June that he wanted to see up to 75 per cent of government websites closed. He then invited government departments to inform him of the sites that they consider are absolutely essential to be kept open for the purpose of meeting their business goals.
	Departments were asked to respond by the end of December. It is therefore too early to say what their full response will be and what representations will be made. However, a number of representations have been received to date, and are being considered as part of the ongoing website review.
	It is also too early to estimate the likely costs of making these changes as the full scope of the changes is not yet known. However, transfer costs are a small proportion of the overall costs of keeping these many websites open, which are unacceptably high.

Health: Burnley General Hospital

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the decision of the Lancashire Health Scrutiny Committee to refer to the Secretary of State the closure of the Deerplay children's ward at Burnley General Hospital and the transfer of its functions to the Royal Blackburn Hospital, (a) when a decision by the Secretary of State is expected, and (b) what steps have been taken to prevent the movement of staff and equipment to Blackburn pending the decision of the Secretary of State.

Earl Howe: On 30 November 2010, the Lancashire County Council Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee referred proposals for service change under the Meeting Patients' Needs programme to the Secretary of State.
	The Secretary of State has asked the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) for its initial advice. The IRP will provide initial advice to the Secretary of State for Health no later than 21 January 2011.
	At its board meeting on 1 December 2010, NHS North West discussed whether the proposed changes to paediatric services should proceed. Based on advice from national and local paediatricians, the board decided changes should proceed on the grounds of clinical safety. However, the board also agreed that no irreversible changes should be made until the advice from the IRP has been considered.

Health: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to provide more funding for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Earl Howe: The Government do not allocate funds for specific diagnoses. However, the health settlement in the Spending Review included both funding to expand access to talking therapies for treating depression and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder and develop the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, as well as an additional £10 million over the next four years to provide better support for those who have served their country in the current conflicts.

Higher Education: Tuition Fees

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the block grants to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be adjusted if those countries do not adjust the maximum cap in university fees so that students from those countries pay the same as English students.

Lord Sassoon: The devolved administrations received Barnett consequentials of the changes made to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills budget in the 2010 Spending Review. No further adjustments will be made to the block budgets of the devolved administrations to reflect their policy and spending allocation decisions on university fees.

Higher Education: VAT

Lord Liddle: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will remove the requirement for the payment of VAT where universities collaborate to share common back office services in order to facilitate efficiencies that will mitigate the potential impact of the higher education public spending settlement on teaching and students.

Lord Sassoon: The Government recognises that higher education institutions, such as universities, may be able to achieve cost savings if they work together. The Government are continuing to look at options for implementing the so called VAT cost-sharing exemption. The exemption would, in certain circumstances, remove a VAT charge on shared services.

Immigration

Baroness Valentine: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Jones on 11 November (WA 126), why there are no specific rewards or sanctions in place to incentivise the UK Border Agency Border Force to meet its targets on immigration queues.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Our primary responsibility is securing the border. We take seriously our responsibility to facilitate the passage of legitimate passengers and trade through the border and work closely with the port and carrier industry to do so. As such we have entered into specific service level agreements across most major UK ports with port operators which include responsibilities placed upon both UKBA and port operators to manage effectively passenger and trade volumes.
	Our business plan target is to clear 95 per cent of EEA and non-EEA nationals within published queuing targets and our performance is currently at 98 per cent against these targets.
	The UK Border Agency and port operators are jointly committed to reduce waiting times through performance levels agreed via individual port service level agreements and we are working collaboratively with industry to ensure that our approach is more transparent. We are also exploring ways of holding each other to account for delivery against these service level agreements.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, of the children who were in immigration detention in each of the months of May to October 2010 inclusive, what was the average length of detention of those children, calculating the length for each child to the end of the month or to the date of release, whichever was the earlier; and what was the longest period of detention experienced by those children.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Local management information indicating the length of detention for children entering immigration detention as part of a family group between 1 May 2010 and 30 October 2010 is in the attached table.
	The data only relate to children detained as part of a family group. Unaccompanied children are not detained. The length of detention is calculated to the date of departure from detention, but recorded against the month in which the child entered detention. Rather than calculate the average statistic for time spent in detention, the Home Office presents the data on length of detention as ranges because this is a more informative overview and is not subject to distortions by a small number of cases with large values.
	Local management information indicates that the longest period of detention for a child entering detention as part of a family unit from 1 May 2010 to 31 October 2010 was 23 days.
	These figures are based on management information and are not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics. They are provisional and may be subject to change.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of children detained solely under Immigration Act powers on a quarterly and annual basis, which are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.
	The Government have made clear their commitment to end the detention of children and continue to work with their corporate partners to find an alternative that protects the welfare of children, without undermining UK immigration laws.
	
		
			 2010 Number of children entering immigration detention Number of children detained for seven days or less Number of children detained for eight-14 days Number of children detained for 15-28 days 
			 May 32 15 5 12 
			 June 26 18 6 2 
			 July 12 12 0 0 
			 Aug 5 5 0 0 
			 Sept 17 16 1 0 
			 Oct 13 13 0 0

Immigration: Detention

Lord Dholakia: To ask Her Majesty's Government for what length of time children are expected to stay in detention for immigration and asylum purposes.

Baroness Neville-Jones: Families with children are detained only when necessary and the duration of such detention is kept to the minimum, most often just for a few days immediately prior to their planned removal from the UK.
	The Government have made clear their commitment to end the detention of children and continue to work with their corporate partners to find an alternative that protects the welfare of children, without undermining UK immigration laws.

Inflation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 25 November (WA 381), on how many occasions the Governor of the Bank of England has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer explaining why the rate of consumer price inflation is more than one percentage point higher than the Government's two per cent per annum target; and whether HM Treasury examines previous letters from the Governor to assess the veracity of the explanations given and forecasts made in those letters by the Governor.

Lord Sassoon: As explained in a previous answer, the open letters between the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England are published on the Bank of England website as well as the HM Treasury Website. HM Treasury carefully considers all open letters.

Inflation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 25 November (WA 381-2), what has been the aggregate increase in prices since the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was given responsibility for inflation targeting; and how the increase compares with the level that would have been experienced if the MPC had achieved the Government's two per cent per annum target, month by month, throughout that period.

Lord Sassoon: I have nothing further to add as this data is publicly available.

Inflation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have compared the annual rate of retail price inflation in the United Kingdom with that in other G8 countries; and, if so, what assessment they have made of this comparison.

Lord Sassoon: The Government analyses a wide range of factors in its assessment of the economy.

Inflation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to curb inflation.

Lord Sassoon: The UK's monetary policy framework gives responsibility for maintaining price stability to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.

Legal Aid

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their latest estimates of the number of people receiving legal aid and advice in each of the categories for which the legal aid White Paper proposes to withdraw legal aid or advice.

Lord McNally: An impact assessment was published with the consultation paper Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales which provides that the proposals on the scope changes to civil and family legal aid might affect between 460,000 and 512,000 people.
	The full impact assessment is available at the Ministry of Justice website at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/legal-aid-reform-151110.htm.

Legal Aid

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the increase in case load for (a) advice and (b) representation to be picked up by voluntary or charitable agencies in each of the categories from which it is intended to withdraw legal aid or advice; and what long-term funding, and upon what basis, will be available to such agencies to support their work in this area.

Lord McNally: The initial impact assessment shows the volume of cases for which Legal Help and Legal Representation would no longer be available if the legal aid proposals were to be implemented. The initial impact assessment seeks views on the implications of this. It can be found at the Ministry of Justice website at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/legal-aid-reform-151110.htm.
	The Government have set up a £100 million Transition Fund which is open to organisations that are most vulnerable to short term reductions in public spending. Detailed eligibility criteria are available from the Cabinet Office website.

Monetary Policy Committee

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 25 November (WA 385), why they do not publish what the HM Treasury representative said at the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 25 November (WA 385), why they do not publish what the HM Treasury representative was instructed to say to the Monetary Policy Committee regarding interest rates and quantitative easing.

Lord Sassoon: It is the responsibility of the Monetary Policy Committee to publish the minutes of its meetings.

NHS: Primary Care Trusts

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many primary care trust provider arms are likely to become social enterprises; and which those are.

Earl Howe: There are 15 primary care trust (PCT) provider arms that are likely to become social enterprises:
	North East Essex;Mid Essex;Bromley;Kingston;Medway;Hull;Bristol PCT (Bristol Community Health);Swindon; Great Yarmouth and Waveney; Bath and North East Somerset; Cornwall and Isles of Scilly; Gloucestershire;North Somerset;Plymouth; andKirklees.
	There are 60 right to request social enterprises in total.

NHS: Primary Care Trusts

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many primary care trust provider arms, collectively or individually, have secured Department of Health approval to go forward to Monitor as candidates for foundation trust status; and which those are.

Earl Howe: To date, eight community provider organisations have achieved National Health Service trust status-a preliminary step to submitting an application to Monitor for foundation trust (FT) status. None has yet submitted an application to Monitor for FT status as the Monitor FT approval process requires them to operate as an NHS trust for a sufficient length of time, usually one year.
	A second wave of 13 primary care trust (PCT) provider arms are seeking NHS Trust status (to form eight NHS trusts) as part of their aim to achieve FT status. To date, the Department has not given approval for this second wave of applications to become NHS Trusts and none therefore have been submitted to Monitor.
	
		
			 First Wave (established as NHS Trusts) Second Wave (currently subject to Departmental approval to become NHS Trusts) 
			 Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust Derbyshire County Aspirant CFT 
			 Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust Lincolnshire Aspirant CFT 
			 Central London Community Healthcare Solent Aspirant CFT (Portsmouth and Southampton PCTs combined) 
			 Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust Shropshire County & Telford and Wrekin PCTs combined 
			 Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust Richmond, Twickenham and Hounslow PCTs combined 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent NHS Trust Leeds Aspirant CFT 
			 Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust Staffordshire Aspirant CFT (North Staffordshire, South Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent combined) 
			 Ashton, Leigh & Wigan Healthcare NHS Trust Wirral Aspirant CFT

NHS: Primary Care Trusts

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the new NHS economic regulator that they have proposed will have the power to review any cases of transfer of primary care trust provider arms to other NHS bodies if he or she considers that such transfers were anti-competitive.

Earl Howe: Our proposal as set out in the White Paper Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS and the consultation document Regulating healthcare providers is that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Competition Commission will be the sole organisations with responsibility for investigating mergers in the health care sector. However, OFT will not have power to retrospectively review completed mergers including any previous transfer of primary care trust provider arms to other National Health Service bodies.
	In addition, the White Paper proposes that Monitor would have concurrent powers with the OFT under the Enterprise Act 2002 to carry out market studies within the healthcare sector and to refer concerns about the healthcare market to the Competition Commission for investigation and, potentially, intervention to address restrictions on competition.

NHS: Primary Care Trusts

Lord Warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many primary care trust provider arms will be market-tested before transfer from the primary care trust.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many primary care trust provider arms are seeking to integrate themselves with acute hospital trusts; and which those are.

Earl Howe: Information is not available in the format requested, as one primary care trust (PCT) may transfer their services across a number of different solutions. Information will be placed in the Library shortly on the individual service lines that PCTs propose to integrate with an acute hospital trust, and the individual service lines that will be subject to market testing.

NHS: Trusts

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have given instructions to strategic health authorities and primary care trusts on whether they should go ahead with any reorganisation of health service trusts before Parliament legislates on the basis of the proposals set out in the NHS white paper Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS.

Earl Howe: The chief executive of the National Health Service, Sir David Nicholson, wrote to chairs and chief executives of NHS bodies on 10 September 2010, outlining the initial steps that are necessary for the NHS to prepare for the transition to the new health and social care system proposed in the White Paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS. Sir David's letter made clear that many of the proposals in the White Paper would require primary legislation and are subject to the approval of Parliament, and the outcome of this process should not be pre-judged.
	The department is considering the responses to the consultation on the White Paper and its accompanying consultation documents, and the proposed changes set out in those documents are not yet underway. However, given the likely timeframe for implementation, the department's view is that it is also important that the NHS continues to think through the changes, engaging staff and local partners, and taking appropriate preparatory steps. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.

NHS: Weekend Cover

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take in response to the findings by the Royal College of Physicians that patients receive poorer care at weekends due to a shortage of consultants.

Earl Howe: The Secretary of State has asked Medical Education England to work with partners from the National Health Service and the medical profession to secure better patient outcomes through greater consultant involvement in direct clinical care at night and at weekends.

Non-Governmental Organisations

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government which ten organisations received the greatest amounts of the Department for International Development's budget allocated to non-governmental organisations in each of the past five years for which information is available; and whether any restrictions were placed on each organisation.

Baroness Verma: Details of the 10 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that received the largest amounts of support from the Department for International Development (DfID) over the past five years are as follows. (All figures in £000s.)
	
		
			 2009-10 
			 British Red Cross 39,611 
			 VSO 34,124 
			 International Rescue Committee UK (IRC) 26,400 
			 Save The Children 25,551 
			 OXFAM 23,646 
			 Christian Aid 17,043 
			 CARE International UK 12,005 
			 International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) 7,426 
			 Overseas Development Institute 7,324 
			 BBC World Service Trust 7,315 
		
	
	
		
			 2008-09 
			 British Red Cross 31,857 
			 VSO 30,907 
			 OXFAM 25,234 
			 IRC (International Rescue Committee UK) 23,014 
			 Save The Children 15,016 
			 CARE International UK 14,811 
			 MERLIN 11,594 
			 IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation) 11,138 
			 Population Services International 11,096 
			 Christian Aid 10,931 
		
	
	
		
			 2007-08 
			 The British Red Cross Society 80,400 
			 VSO 29,353 
			 OXFAM 15,804 
			 Population Services International 13,636 
			 British Red Cross 11,886 
			 Save The Children 11,459 
			 CARE International UK 11,283 
			 IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation) 7,668 
			 ACTIONAID 7,247 
			 Christian Aid 6,877 
		
	
	
		
			 2006-07 
			 British Red Cross 51,705 
			 VSO 28,801 
			 OXFAM 19,648 
			 CARE 19,339 
			 Population Services International 15,826 
			 Save The Children 14,686 
			 Christian Aid 8,943 
			 ACTIONAID 8,716 
			 Medecins Sans Frontieres 7,991 
			 IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Fed) 7,620 
		
	
	
		
			 2005-06 
			 British Red Cross 52,161 
			 VSO 28,833 
			 OXFAM 20,894 
			 CARE 18,095 
			 Population Services International 11,442 
			 ACTIONAID 11,435 
			 Save The Children 11,345 
			 Christian Aid 8,678 
			 Medecins Sans Frontieres 8,546 
			 CAFOD 5,685 
		
	
	These NGOs have received this support through a variety of different DfID funding mechanisms. Details of the conditions attached to all funding to this group cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. However, further details of all DfID projects, including those delivered by NGOs, can be found on the project database on DfID's website.
	Each of DfID's funding channels for NGOs has different criteria and a specific application process. However once funding has been agreed there are a number of conditions that DfID applies to all NGOs. For example, they are required to provide quarterly financial reports, a copy of their annual audited accounts and annual reports detailing progress made against agreed objectives. Funds can only be used to support activities and objectives agreed with DfID. All NGOs are also required to produce a project evaluation and project completion reports.
	The UK Government are introducing a new aid transparency guarantee, which commits the Government to making UK aid fully transparent to citizens in the UK and developing countries, increasing accessibility and feedback, and pressing international partners to follow this lead. Under this guarantee, DfID will publish full and detailed information on all funded projects and programmes on the DfID website-in a standardised, accessible format so that this information can be freely used by third parties.

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 23 November (WA 312) concerning divisions of the Northern Ireland Office, what is the role of the Political Liaison and Protocol Division; and how many staff it has.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: Political Liaison and Protocol (PLP) Division provides advice and analysis to Ministers and senior officials on the political climate in Northern Ireland; co-ordinates public appointments and honours nominations; organises citizenship ceremonies in Northern Ireland; and leads on arrangements for all royal, VIP and ministerial visits to Northern Ireland. It also provides, with the Irish Government, the Joint British/Irish Secretariat.
	Staffing levels for each division of the Northern Ireland Office are published on the Cabinet Office website.

Office for Budget Responsibility

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether newspaper reports published during the weekend before the statement on 29 November by the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility have been subject to a leak investigation.

Lord Sassoon: The newspaper reports published during the weekend before the statement on 29 November by the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility have not been subject to a leak investigation.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 30 per cent of Official Development Assistance to be spent in fragile states targets the poorest.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 30 per cent of Official Development Assistance to be spent in fragile states is directed towards the Department for International Development's core mandate of development and poverty eradication, as opposed to strengthening security, justice and defence overseas.

Baroness Verma: Investing aid in fragile and conflict-affected states is key to tackling the toughest development challenges. No fragile country has yet achieved a single millennium development goal (MDG). Half of children who die before their fifth birthday are in fragile states. We will not meet the MDGs or the needs of the poorest unless we do more to deal with conflict and fragility directly. This means addressing the root causes of conflict and fragility; supporting an inclusive political system that builds a closer society; and strengthening government's ability to deliver security, justice and economic opportunity. This is vital to improving the lives of the poorest.
	Wherever we work, the Department for International Development (DfID) rigorously follows the rules of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on what counts as overseas development assistance (ODA). The new Independent Commission for Aid Impact, which will report to Parliament, will assess how ODA is spent, where aid works and where improvements are needed.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 30 per cent of Official Development Assistance to be spent in fragile states will tackle gender inequalities.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 30 per cent of official development assistance to be spent in fragile states empowers girls, promotes equality and improves individuals' sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Baroness Verma: The Department for International Development (DfID) is committed to putting girls' and women's empowerment and promoting gender equality at the very front and centre of all of our work. Leading international action to improve the lives of girls and women is one of the six pillars in DfID's business plan 2011-15.
	The 30 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) allocated to fragile and conflict-affected states will be spent across the range of development activities. The primary mechanism for allocating DfID's funding will be the ongoing bilateral aid review, which has included equality impact assessments. Through the bilateral aid review, DfID country offices have been required to define clear, measurable commitments to empower women and girls and promote gender equality. Once the outcomes of the review are finalised, decisions on the allocation of resources, including for fragile states, will be made.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of official development assistance to be spent in fragile states will be allocated to improving maternal health.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 30 per cent of official development assistance to be spent in fragile states improves access to family planning, safe abortion services, skilled birth attendants and obstetric emergency care, to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.

Baroness Verma: The UK is reorienting its aid programme to put women right at the heart of its development efforts. The Department for International Development (DfID) has worked to improve maternal health across fragile states, including by assisting the Government of Sierra Leone to provide free health care for 230,000 mothers and 1 million children under five. But we must do more; every year more than half a million women and girls die as a result of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, 99 per cent in developing countries.
	The primary mechanism for allocating DfID's funding will be the ongoing bilateral aid review, which has included equality impact assessments. Through the bilateral aid review, DfID country offices have been required to define clear, measurable commitments to improve maternal health. Once the outcomes of the review are finalised, decisions on the allocation of resources, including for fragile states, will be made.

Overseas Aid

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the 30 per cent of official development assistance to be spent in fragile states will be used to prevent conflict and not to increase the supply of arms in those countries.

Baroness Verma: The 30 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) allocated to fragile and conflict-affected states will be spent across the range of development activities, all of which address conflict and fragility. The Department for International Development (DfID) monitors its support to all countries very carefully, including aid to fragile states, to ensure that aid cannot be misappropriated for any purpose, especially the purchase of arms. Under the rules of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which DfID rigorously follows, ODA cannot be used to supply arms.
	In addition, the Government are committed to securing a robust and effective international arms trade treaty to regulate the trade in conventional weapons and have played a proactive role in this process. Such a treaty would establish common international standards for this trade, ensuring respect for human rights, international humanitarian law and socioeconomic development.

Overseas Aid: Family Planning

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of official development assistance to be spent in fragile states will be allocated to family planning and safe abortion services.

Baroness Verma: The UK Government are committed to reducing maternal mortality in the developing world. While we do not promote abortion as a method of family planning, one of the leading causes of maternal death is unsafe abortion. The World Health Organisation estimates that nearly 70,000 women die each year following unsafe abortion. We are committed to bringing this number down, including in fragile states.
	The primary mechanism for allocating the Department for International Development's (DfID's) funding will be the ongoing bilateral aid review, which has included equality impact assessments. Through the bilateral aid review, DfID country offices have been required to define clear, measurable commitments to improve maternal health. Once the outcomes of the review are finalised, decisions on the allocation of resources, including for fragile states, will be made.

Overseas Territories

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 22 November (WA 283), whether they will provide a breakdown of the aggregate sum of £22.7 million for St Helena and Dependencies into specific sums and categories of expenditure.

Baroness Verma: A detailed breakdown of the £22.7 million allocated to St Helena and dependencies in 2009-10 is published in Annexe A4.1 of Statistics in International Development, which is available in the Library of the House and on the Department for International Development (DfID) website. The requested figures are repeated below (£ thousands). Details of individual projects are also available on the DfID website under Project Information.
	
		
			 Input Sector Code General Poverty Reduction Budget Support Sector Poverty Reduction Budget Support Other Financial Aid Technical Co- operation Bilateral Aid Delivered through a Multilateral Bilateral Aid Delivered through an NGO Other Bilateral Aid Humanitarian Assistance DfID Debt Relief Total DfID Bilateral Programme 
			 Education Policy and Admin Management - - 6 225 55 - - - - - 6 280 
			 Teacher Training, Education - - 43 - - - - - - 43 
			 Primary Education - - 113 - - - - - - 113 
			 Secondary Education -  209 - - -  - - 209 
			 Vocational Training Education - - - 20 - - - - - 20 
			 Advanced Technical and Managerial Training Education - - - 27 - - - - - 27 
			 Health Policy and Admin Management - - 643 10 -   - - 654 
			 Basic Health Care - - 89 - - - - - - 89 
			 Infectious Disease Control - - - 56 - - - - - 56 
			 Health Education - - 33 - - - - -  33 
			 Health Personnel Development - - 515 - - - - -  515 
			 HIV/AIDS including STD Prevention - - 118 3 - - - - - 121 
			 Water Resources Policy and Admin Management - - 4 - - - - - - 4 
			 Basic Drinking Water - - 33 - - - - - - 33 
			 Waste Management and Disposal - - 209 - _  - - - 209 
			 Economic and Development Policy/Planning - - 8 576 18 - - - - - 8 594 
			 Public Sector Financial Management: Government and Civil Society - - 35 651 - 4 - - - 690 
			 Legal and Judicial Development - - - 103 - - - - - 103 
			 15141 National Government Administration - - 0 - - - - - - 0 
			 Local Government Administration - - - 21 - - - - - 21 
			 Social Other - - - 4 - - - - - 4 
			 Transport Policy and Admin Management - - 124 721 - 19 - - - 865 
			 Other Transport - - 1 872 21 - - - - - 1 893 
			 Communications Policy and Admin Management - - - 7 - - - - - 7 
			 Telecommunications - - - 13 - - - - - 13 
			 Energy Policy and Administrative Management - - 990 - - - - - - 990 
			 Power Generation/Renewable Sources: Energy - - - 4 - - - - - 4 
			 Financial Policy and Administrative Management - - - 17 - - - - - 17 
			 Fishing Policy and Administrative Management - - - 35 - - - - - 35 
			 Fishery Development - - - 88 - - - - - 88 
			 Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME): Development - - 142 82 - 1 - - - 226 
			 Construction Policy and Administrative Management - - 21 - - - - - - 21 
			 Trade Policy and Administrative Management - - 98 84 - 1 - - - 184 
			 Tourism Policy and Administrative Management - - 100 25 - - - - - 125 
			 Environmental Policy and Administrative Management - - - 11 - 13 - - - 24 
			 Bio-Diversity, Environment - - 61 34 - 55 - - - 150 
			 Urban Development and Management - - 44 7 - - - - - 51 
			 Disaster Prevention and Preparedness - - 71 - - - - - - 71 
			 Economic Research - - - 4 - - - - - 4 
			 Environment Research - - 10 34 - 1 - - - 45 
			 Fishery Research - - - 70 - - - - - 70 
			 Total - - 20 377 2 228 - 97 - - - 22 701

Overseas Territories: Honours

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government by what process recommendations for honours are made in respect of the Overseas Territories.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Honours nominations in respect of the Overseas Territories are processed through the Honours Secretariat in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the same way as other nominations for the Diplomatic Service and Overseas (DS&O) List. Successful nominations are included in the twice yearly DS&O List.

Parliamentary Constituencies

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people aged over 18 live in each parliamentary constituency; and how many people are on the electoral register in each constituency.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Bassam of Brighton, dated December 2010.
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking how many people aged over 18 live in each parliamentary constituency; and how many people are on the electoral register in each constituency (HL4715).
	A copy of the table, which shows the mid-year estimate of the population aged 18 and over by parliamentary constituency in England and Wales for 2007, will be placed in the Libraries of the House. These are the latest figures that are available and reflect the parliamentary constituency boundaries that were in place prior to the 2010 general election.
	The latest estimates of the number of people registered to vote in parliamentary elections are as at 1 December 2009 and reflect the parliamentary constituency boundaries that came into force at the 2010 general election. These are not on the same time period or boundaries as the data supplied in table 1. Therefore, for comparability, table 2 shows the number of people registered to vote in parliamentary elections for each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales, as at 1 December 2007 for the parliamentary constituency boundaries in place prior to the 2010 general election.
	The latest estimates for 1 December 2009 on current parliamentary constituency boundaries are available on the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Productasp?vlnk=319&Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=272.

People Trafficking

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of media reports that human trafficking of women and girls, particularly from the north-eastern states of India into Delhi, increased in the lead-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, they have made representations to the Government of India about those reports; if so, with what result; and what help the United Kingdom has offered to the Government of India to help prevent such trafficking.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We have not made specific representations about these reports. However, the UK Government are committed to working with international partners to address the problem of human trafficking. Through the EU we continue to encourage India to ratify and implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol on People Trafficking. We will continue to raise the most pressing human rights issues through the EU-India human rights dialogue.
	The EU has run three projects during the period 2000-2010 on human trafficking in India, focusing on both interstate trafficking in India and regional trafficking in south Asia.

People Trafficking

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of media reports that human trafficking of women and girls, particularly from the north-eastern states of India into Delhi, increased in the lead-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, athletes, officials and spectators from the United Kingdom were warned that women and girls in the sex trade in India have been trafficked.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Athletes, officials and spectators were not warned specifically about reported trafficking of women and girls in the sex trade in India ahead of the Commonwealth Games. We provided travel advice to British nationals attending the Games focused on their personal security, health and safety.

People Trafficking

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of media reports that human trafficking of women and girls, particularly from the north-eastern states of India into Delhi, increased in the lead-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, any lessons have been learnt from Delhi's experience in advance of the 2012 London Olympics.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The Government are aware that in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics criminals may seek to profit from the Games by increasing their activities, including in relation to human trafficking.
	Intelligence on organised crime, including human trafficking, is regularly reviewed as part of the Olympics organised crime threat assessment. Current intelligence and available research evidence do not indicate an increased threat of human trafficking in relation to the London 2012 Olympics.
	However, if this situation changes, our response will draw on lessons to be learnt from the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

People Trafficking

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the light of media reports that human trafficking of women and girls, particularly from the north-eastern states of India into Delhi, increased in the lead-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, they have made representations to the Government of India about the reported cases of child labour in the construction of the Commonwealth Games facilities as a result of debt bondage.

Lord Howell of Guildford: We have not made specific representations about the reported cases of child labour in the construction of the Commonwealth Games facilities. However, child rights remain a high priority in our work to promote equality and tackle discrimination in India and the UK Government engage on this issue with relevant authorities. Through the EU, we continue to encourage India to ratify and implement as a priority International Labour Organisation Conventions 138 and 182 relating to child labour and to withdraw its reservation to article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which explicitly prohibits child labour.
	We will continue to raise child rights issues with the Indian Government through the EU-India human rights dialogue.

Railways: Closed Sections

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have had from passenger interest groups looking to reopen closed sections of strategic railway lines; and what assessments they have made of those representations.

Earl Attlee: Representations have been made from a number of bodies, including passenger interest groups, for the reopening of closed railway lines. Where national funding is sought, the Department for Transport considers whether there is a current or latent strategic demand for the route. In doing so, the department takes into account the demand forecasts provided by the promoters and the views of the wider rail industry, notably those produced through the Network Rail route planning process.

Railways: Closed Sections

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the process for deciding whether to reopen closed sections of strategic railway lines; and whether they have any plans to review this process in the future.

Earl Attlee: The process stems from the identification of strategic gaps by the rail industry route utilisation strategy and, to a lesser degree, from promotion of routes for reopening by third parties. To date, there have been no self-funded schemes and in all cases direct government investment has been sought. An assessment is made of the costs, benefits and affordability of reopening and a decision is taken by Ministers on whether to fund. There are no current plans to review this process. The Government in Scotland are responsible for the process within Scotland.

Railways: Engineering Work

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 23 November (WA 317), what was the breakdown of costs for the doubling of the Swindon-Kemble railway line that were included in the total estimated cost of £52.4 million and were not included in engineering work (£39.6 million) or train operator compensation (£2.5 million); and who was to incur each of these costs.

Earl Attlee: The other costs estimated by Network Rail were £3.7 million for project management and land compensation and £6.6 million for contingency funding. The apportionment of the total of £52.4 million of costs had not been established, as funding had not been agreed.

Railways: Freight

Lord Liddle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the September 2010 Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning a European Rail Network for competitive freight; and why the United Kingdom is not participating in the initial freight corridors listed.

Earl Attlee: The UK Government support the Commission's objective of encouraging the development of a sustainable, efficient, well integrated rail freight system as set out in the September 2010 Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council concerning a European rail network for competitive freight.
	The UK is not participating in the initial corridors because it does not have any pre-existing freight routes that would be suitable for adaptation as international rail corridors for competitive freight within the period allowed for the establishment of the initial routes. However, we will participate in the establishment of further freight corridors in conjunction with France and intend to join the French in sending a letter of intent in respect of the proposals to the European Commission by November 2012.

Railways: Overcrowding

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the continued rise in passenger numbers on the central south coast rail route between London and Brighton; and what plans they have to tackle growth in passenger numbers.

Earl Attlee: The most recent assessment of passenger numbers on the Brighton main line was undertaken by Network Rail in its Sussex Route Utilisation Strategy, published in January 2009.
	The Southern train operating company will be introducing additional vehicles to the route during 2011. In due course, the Thameslink Programme, for which funding was recently confirmed by the Government, will be providing new-build high-density 12-car trains for the route.

Railways: Railcards

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 16 November (WA 199), whether they regard the Association of Train Operating Companies senior railcard as a marketing strategy rather than a concession.

Earl Attlee: The Senior Railcard is a concession because it allows holders to obtain discounted fares. However, it also generates revenue for the rail industry.

Republic of Ireland: Financial Support

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the interest rate to be paid by Ireland to the United Kingdom under its bilateral loan is higher or lower than the rate paid by Iceland to the United Kingdom.

Lord Sassoon: Details of the financial assistance package for the Republic of Ireland, which was announced on 28 November, have not yet been finalised.

Savings

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether National Savings & Investments will re-introduce retail products which guarantee savers a return in excess of the rate of retail inflation.

Lord Sassoon: Sales volumes in the first part of this year far exceeded those either anticipated or required by National Savings & Investments (NS&I) under its net financing target. NS&I follows a policy of acting transparently and balancing the interests of savers, the taxpayer and the stability of the wider financial services market. The position will be kept under regular review and sales of these products will be resumed when NS&I can be confident that conditions will enable NS&I to operate within and to their publicly agreed targets.

South Wales Police

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Jones on 6 October (WA 22), whether they will ask the Audit Commission and the Wales Audit Office to revisit and update their examination of the quality of the data published by the South Wales Constabulary in their report in 2007; whether they will request a full investigation into the categories of "cuffing", "stitching", "skewing", and "nodding", as outlined in the PhD thesis of Detective Chief Inspector Roger Patrick of West Midlands Police; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the 2007 report outlining the reasons for the South Wales Constabulary being rated as "fair" for crime data policy.

Baroness Neville-Jones: There are no plans to undertake such an investigation.
	A copy of the report published by the Audit Commission and the Wales Audit Office report in 2007 on police data quality in England and Wales have been placed in the Library of the House.

Spending Review 2010

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in light of Spending Review 2010, what action they are taking to protect public sector jobs.

Lord Sassoon: The United Kingdom faces the largest peacetime deficit in our history. The public sector pay bill accounts for around half of departmental resource spending, so deficit reduction will inevitably impact on the public sector workforce. However, not tackling the deficit would be the worst thing for jobs in the medium term, across the public and private sector.
	The Government will support employers to do everything they can to mitigate the impact of public sector job losses; by protecting jobs through pay and pensions reform; by ensuring that staff in different public sector workforces and each region will have visibility of suitable vacancies; by encouraging local employers to explore voluntary deals with staff on pay restraint or reduced hours in order to save jobs; and by actively monitoring potential workforce reductions, enabling decisions to be taken in time to mitigate localised impacts.
	The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), in its Economic and Fiscal Outlook of 29 November, estimated a reduction in general government headcount of around 160,000 less than expected in the June Budget forecast. The bulk of this revision reflects the Government's reforms to welfare and savings made on debt interest. The full set of forecasts can be found on the OBR website: http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/d/econ_fiscal_outlook_291110.pdf

Spending Review 2010

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many jobs they forecast the private sector will create to compensate for the loss of jobs in the public sector due to Spending Review 2010.

Lord Sassoon: On 29 November 2010, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) released the official forecast for total employment and general government employment, updated for the spending review announcements.
	As the OBR sets out in paragraph 3.98, page 62 of its November 2010 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (Cm 7979), it expects total employment to rise by 1.1 million over the next five years, from 29 million in 2010 to 30.1 million in 2015. General government employment is projected to fall by just over 400,000 between 2010-11 and 2015-16, more than offset by a rise in market sector employment of around 1.5 million.
	In paragraph 3.99, page 62, the OBR presents evidence that this scale of private sector job creation over a period of fiscal consolidation is not unprecedented. The latest labour market statistics suggest that total employment increased by 1.3 million between 1992 and 1998, while general government employment contracted by around 0.5 million.

Stamp Duty

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in Table 4.6 of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published by the Office for Budget Responsibility in November 2010, what is the breakdown between (a) residential, and (b) commercial, property receipts from Stamp Duty Land Tax for each year in the table; and, for commercial property, what are the assumptions for (1) the increase in average prices, and (2) the change in the number of transactions for each year in the table.

Lord Sassoon: Estimates of the breakdown of stamp duty land tax receipts into receipts from residential transactions and receipts from non residential transactions are given in the table below for 2009-10:
	
		
			 Stamp Duty Land Tax from: £m 
			 Residential transactions 3,290 
			 Non residential transactions 1,595 
			 Total 4,885 
		
	
	Forecasts of stamp duty land tax are made at aggregate level and a breakdown is not available for future years. The assumptions made for the annual increases in non residential prices and non residential transaction volumes for the years in table 4.6 in the Office for Budget Responsibility Economic and Fiscal Outlook are given in the table below:
	
		
			 Annual change (%) 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 
			 Non-residential prices 6.0 5.9 7.0 6.5 4.7 3.0 
			 Non-residential volumes 13.0 8.0 3.5 4.2 4.5 4.4

Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of United Kingdom-based voter registration for the Sudan referendum in January 2011.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Out-of-country voting in London started on time on 15 November 2010 and will end on 8 December 2010. Two visits have been made by the joint Department for International Development/Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sudan Unit to the registration centre. On both occasions, registration was proceeding smoothly, monitored by international observers.

Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the preparations made by the United Kingdom, European Union and the United Nations for the referendum due to take place in Sudan in January 2011.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The British Government, with the European Union and United Nations, is providing significant support to technical and logistical preparations for the referendum. UK assistance is provided through a £10 million contribution to the United Nations Development Programme Basket Fund. We are also providing support to the political talks between the Sudanese parties on border demarcation and security arrangements.

Traffic Fines

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 23 November (WA 322), what procedures are in place at the Traffic Enforcement Centre to ensure that the procedure described in that Answer is followed and to ensure that addresses used when registering a Penalty Charge Notice are the same as those used for the service of Notices to Owners.

Lord McNally: The Traffic Enforcement Centre has taken steps to remind local authorities of the legal provisions for the registration of penalty charge notices and failure to comply with these provisions will lead to registered notices being revoked. Any cases brought to the attention of the Traffic Enforcement Centre will be reviewed and notices which fail to provide the full information will be revoked.

Traffic Fines

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord McNally on 23 November (WA 322), whether, where an incomplete or inadequate address is corrected after service of the Notice to Owner but before registration of the Penalty Charge Notice at the Traffic Enforcement Centre, the Notice to Owner should be re-served at the correct address before registration.

Lord McNally: The local authority must certify 14 days have elapsed since the service of the notice at the correct address. In the event new information has come to light and address details amended, the notice should be served at the new address before registration, details of which must be certified by the local authority in its request.

Turkey

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, having regard to Turkey's economic and political circumstances and regional role, they still consider it is in Turkey's interest to continue to strive for membership of the European Union; and if so, why.

Lord Howell of Guildford: It is for the Turkish Government to assess if full membership of the European Union is in Turkey's best interest. The UK Government strongly support Turkey's application to join the European Union, conditional on the rigorous application of the accession criteria.

Turkey

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, having regard to Turkey's economic and political circumstances and regional role, they are engaging in discussions to develop and strengthen a United Kingdom-Turkey relationship outside the European Union.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The new UK-Turkey Strategic Partnership, signed by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister during his visit to Turkey in July, set out the breadth of our shared bilateral interests. These include trade and investment, regional peace and stability, defence, illegal migration, energy security, and education and culture. The UK's support for Turkey's EU accession process is a key part of this bilateral relationship.

UN First Committee on Disarmament

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the United Kingdom's participation in the recent United Nations First Committee on disarmament.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The ambassador for multilateral arms control and disarmament, John Duncan, led a small team of officials at this year's United Nations First Committee on International Peace and Security, supported by policy officials in London. This follows previous practice. We played an active role throughout first committee negotiations. Details of UK statements and voting positions can be found at www.ukunarmscontrol.fco.gov.uk.

Unacceptable Behaviour

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the emphasis placed on personal responsibility in The Coalition: Our Programme for Government, what is their assessment of proposals that people having perceived unacceptable behaviours might be paid to abandon such behaviours.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Though there are many examples of using prices to affect behaviour change-such as lower taxes on unleaded fuel to encourage people to switch away from leaded fuels, or the reduction in smoking due to higher duties-the use of incentives to encourage people to abandon unacceptable behaviours is much more problematic.
	The recently published public health White Paper promotes the wider use of behavioural approaches to healthy living, giving local areas more control over budgets to try out different approaches. The use of incentives in health improvement interventions is a newly emerging area with a limited evidence-base and its value is not yet conclusive. In selecting the health improvement initiatives they will implement, local areas will need to consider the range of cost-effective evidence-based interventions available to them and tailor these to the needs of their local populations.

Government Departments: Unpaid Advisers

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the names of all unpaid advisers to Ministers in the Home Office.

Baroness Neville-Jones: On 28 June 2010, Lord Wasserman was appointed on an unpaid basis by the Home Secretary to provide advice on strategic policing issues. On 29 June 2010, the Home Secretary asked Brooke Kinsella to undertake a fact-finding mission to examine schemes working in local communities to stop young people from carrying and using weapons.

Visas

Lord Steel of Aikwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many complaints they have received about the costs, complexity and delays in issuing visas.

Baroness Neville-Jones: During the period September 2009-September 2010, 1,012 complaints were received directly by the UK Border Agency relating to delays in the processing of overseas visa applications. 2,763,300 overseas visa applications were received during this period. This figure does not include complaints which were sent directly to one of the UK Border Agency's commercial partners or via a Member of Parliament.
	The UK Border Agency defines a complaint as "any expression of dissatisfaction about the services provided by or for the UK Border Agency and/or about the professional conduct of UK Border Agency staff, including contractors".
	Complaints are categorised as:
	Delays in processing an application (including following successful appeal)Quality of serviceCommunicationWrong informationLost documentsMinor misconductAccess to servicesRacial prejudiceSerious misconduct
	If correspondence falls outside of one of the complaint categories, as is the case for correspondence relating to the cost of a visa or the complexity of the rules, it will be responded to through the UK Border Agency's public correspondence channels either from the UK or one of its overseas visa sections dependent on where the writer is located. For this reason the UK Border Agency is only able to provide statistics for complaints relating to delays and not cost or complexity as requested.

Visas

Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their plans for the future of ancestry visas.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Home Secretary has indicated that the Government intend to review all immigration routes including those for work, family and study. We will make further announcements in due course. There are no current plans to change the rules on ancestry visas.

Visas

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of their proposed student visa reforms on the United Kingdom's workforce.

Baroness Neville-Jones: The purpose of the student visa system is to allow foreign students to study in the UK, not to add to the UK's workforce. The Government want to ensure that those who enter on a student visa genuinely come here to study, not to work or with a view to settling here.
	On 7 December the Government launched a public consultation on proposed changes to the student visa arrangements. Some of the proposals will impact on the ability of students and their dependants to work during their course of study, and to enter the UK labour market after their graduation.